It’s that time of year again were we celebrate our Scottish
blood and watch the local Highland Games. As always, it was a great day out,
though I fully intend to go to one of the other ones at some point in the
future!
To shake things up a little this year, my mum, older sister
and nephew came along. It was the first Highland games any of them had attended
and I found I really interesting what they enjoyed and what they didn’t. It was
also the first year I did the ‘add on’ stuff – the Scottish Police were there
and my nephew got his finger prints taken in addition to us all getting a shot
in the back of a paddy wagon. The 105th Regiment Royal Artillery were also there and proved to be a real highlight.
I set Missy up for the above photo with the gun whilst the rest
of the family dithered off and, after getting the shot and rewarding her, one
of the chaps manning the area dashed over and asked if she could do it again!
Naturally, I obliged (any excuse to show off and talk about Missy) and she had
her picture taken again, so I suspect she’s going to end up on their Facebook.
Since we’d gotten chatting, they then decked my nephew up in all the gear and
showed him the gun - VIP treatment! They insisted on a photo of everyone with
the gunner at the gun and, looking back on the photos, Missy is being an
absolute flirt with the gunner…
I can’t take her anywhere!
Whilst I adore the dancing, it didn’t take the fancy of my
sister and nephew, and he wasn’t keen on the pipe bands either. I was starting
to get worried when the throwing the stone, the first event of the heavy games,
had proven a fail as well to get their interest. We bumbled about the stalls
again and I insisted that we give the heavy games another go for the ‘throw the
weight over the bar’ (yes, the names are very imaginative!). This one is always
a hit, its impressive, it’s dangerous, everyone loves it and that proved the
case on Saturday – the day was saved!
Missy then made friends with a staffie in the VIP area, and
alas, it was not to be as neither could get through the fence. Watching the
dogs play filled the gap between events and we all watched the caber tossing –
the most Scottish of the heavy games! The weather was one of those odd days
were, out the wind it was baking hot, but when caught in the wind it was
bitterly cold, so they had to change direction for the tossing. It’s the first
time I’ve seen them throw towards the crowd, and I got some great shots out of
it.
And that was the day. It was almost 5pm and we’d been out
since 10am! A very different games for me compared to previous years, but still
a great day.
Oh dear, how could they not enjoy throwing the stone? Or most of the heavy games?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Missy is a flirt and has a natynat charm that works it's ways into everyone's heart! Love the photos of her, and pleased the day went well all in all!